Samuel hal lock



@einen 1:1125 atrnt @frn SAMUEL HALLCK, OF NEW YGRK, N. Y. Letters Patent No. 63,512, dated April 2, 1867.

IMPRCVEl) SURFACE CONDUCTOR FOR ELECTROTYPIHG.

fotte lgrhuie nitriet tn iu tigers sttrts ntrnt mit uniting gmt-nf its time.,

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL HALLOCK, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and improved Surface Conductor for Electroiyping; and I do hereby declare that the following is a. full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawingsforming part of this specification, in which- Figre 1 is a detached view of my improved surface conductor for elcctrotyping,

Figure 2 is a. top view of' the same'when connected with a mould for electrotyping.

Figure 3 is'an edge view of the same.

Similar'letters of reference indicate like parts. l

This invention relates to a new and improved mode of electrotyping, and consists in applying a metal conductor of electricity tothe surface of the mould to be clectrotyped instead of the usual method of employing wire pins pierced through the wax mould in contact with the bottom of the pan. The ordinary methodof elecrotyping through the-medium of fine .wire pinsis slow and'uncertain, as the-cursents of electricity passing through them are necessarily very Weak, and are often out off entirely by the intervention of a thin coating of -wax which may attach itself to the point of the wire, so that the conductor does not come into actual contact with the metal bottom of the pan, thus producing imperfect plating of the face of the mould. While the time required by the wire conductors to electrotype a mould is usually about twelve hours, by my improved method the operation may bc perfectly performed in a few minutes.

A represents an ordinary lnould pan, and B a metal frame set upon projections t a at the corners, and fastened together hy clamps b b, or in any convenient manner. Within the pan A is made the wax mould of a page of letter-press, which is covered with a thin coating of plumbago in the usual way. The frame B is provided with any necessary number of cross-bars c c, which are made adjustable by sliding loops at their ends or in any suitable way. Attached to the bars e c are a number of little metal arms, e e, the free ends of which are brought in contact with the plumbago surface of themould at points on the spaces between the lines of letters, and the ends of the arms e e may be held in this position of actual contact with the plumbago surface of the mould by their natural spring or by some other device for bearing them down upon the mould. The pan A is then suspended in the bath on a wire connected with the battery in the usual manner, as shown in fig. 2. The currents of electricity will pass through the metal pan, and by the connections of the projections ara at the corners, through the frame B, the cross-bars 0,0, and the arms e e, to the plumbago surface of the mould, upon which will be deposited a thin film of copper. The surface conductor may then be removed and the mould placed in the bath again, to remain until the deposit of copper is of suiicient thickness, in the ordinary manner. The pan A is to .be coated with wax in the usual way, except on the ends of the projections a a, where the bare metal must be in actual conta-ct with the metal frame B, which is made bare at those points, and also et the ends or tips of the arms e e. All other parts of the frame B, the bars c c, and the arms e e, are to he covered with gutta perche or other non-conductor, as a permanent coating, in preference to wax..

This instrument for electrotyping by contact with the surface of the mould' may be adapted to every variety of electrotyping, and my invention is not confinedin its application to letter-press electrotyping.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A surface conductor for elect-rotyping, arranged and operating substantially as herein described.

SAMUEL HALLOCK. Witnesses WM. F. MCNAMARA, ALEX. F. ROBERTS. 

